Vernon's Matt Soltes getting a shot with Kansas City Chiefs

Vernon High graduate Matt Soltes got the best phone call of his life on Sunday afternoon after 5 p.m.
It was the Kansas City Chiefs calling.After a record-setting career as quarterback at East Stroudsburg University, Soltes was invited to the NFL team's three-day mini-camp that begins on Saturday."My agent had heard that I might get drafted in one of the later rounds, but that didn't happen," Soltes said. "After that, you pretty much sit at home and wait for a phone call to see if anybody's going to invite you in and give you a shot."The first thing he did after hanging up?"My family was all there and I hugged each one of them," he said. "It's been some long months since my last season ended, and they're the ones who put up with me and encouraged me."Put up with him as he dealt with agents and uncertainty.Encouraged him as he worked harder than ever in the weight room to be ready if the NFL came calling.That last season in college had gone just like his previous three seasons -- throwing the ball on nearly every play and racking up school and Division II passing records one after another.As a senior, he led his team to a 6-5 record while averaging 354 yards passing per game, including 41 touchdown passes. Among his many D-II career records were 13 games with at least five TD passes and six games with at least 500 yards of total offense, plus single-game records for 594 yards passing and for tossing nine TD passes.Right out of Vernon four years ago, he raised eyebrows immediately as an ESU freshman, setting an NCAA All-Division record in a game when he notched 666 yards of total offense, passing for 535 and rushing for 131.Now, he'll get a shot at the NFL."That's all you can ask for," Soltes said. "I'm going out there to compete for a job. I'm not going out there just for fun or just to say I did it. I'm approaching this with the idea that I'm getting a chance, I've worked hard to prepare for this and I'm going to compete, that's who I am."And, that competitive fire is one of two things that his Vernon High coach remembers most about him."We did not have great teams when he was here and we lost a lot of games," said Vernon coach Chuck Tepper. "But, Matt never let up. Not for one play in a game, not for one snap during practice. He was always competitive."The other thing was his leadership. That word can get overused sometimes, but not in this case. He took over as our quarterback as a sophomore and, believe me, he took charge and nobody ever questioned him as our leader."Before this past weekend's NFL draft, Soltes and his agent had been contacted by several teams, and some seemed more interested in him than the Chiefs.Since Sunday's phone call, Soltes has been learning all he can about the team and its coaches.Last year, 12-year league veteran Alex Smith called signals in KC, with fourth-year man Tyler Bray and third-year man Aaron Murray on the bench as back-ups.When he arrives in camp, Soltes will also meet up with Stanford University quarterback Kevin Hogan, who was drafted by the Chiefs in Round 5 of the draft."I know it's not going to be easy to win a spot on the team, but that's exactly what I'm going out there to try to do," Soltes said. "I'm confident I can learn anything the coaches throw at us and hopefully I can impress them with that."Coach Tepper sounds just as confident."They're going to notice him, I guarantee you that," Tepper said. "They're going to see a guy who works as hard as anybody they've ever seen. He's got great physical abilities, but the way he works is just as impressive."Hopefully, they'll see the kind of potential he has for the future."For sure, Soltes heads to Newark Airport on Friday with unflinching faith in himself. And, with gratitude for getting his shot. That's all he ever wanted was a shot.